New Colorado Springs breast cancer survivor support group aims to foster healing with fellowship and exercise!
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KKTV) - They are the definition of surviving ...
... And now, they’re thriving too!
A group of as many as 70 people have been meeting up each month since June for group hikes around the Colorado Springs area. Bringing them together: These are all breast cancer survivors and their family members.
A social club for these survivors -- or “thrivers,” as they’re often known -- seems like a no-brainer, but was surprisingly hard to find in the Pikes Peak region until recently.
“When I moved here to accept the position working in an outpatient clinic, it became clear to me there was a real gap in breast cancer survivorship care here in the Springs,” Dr. Molly Sleigh told me. “Because breast cancer has touched the life of my family as well as my husband’s, we decided to do something to try to reach that gap in survivorship care for patients.”
Her idea: A support group, outside of the halls of the local hospitals, and instead out in the world. Think a Meetup group for breast cancer survivors.
“What we’ve done is taken the themes that I’ve been hearing from my patients for over 25 years and to try to develop some support programs for them in this area,” Sleigh said. “Our mission is to empower breast cancer survivors and their families to rise above through participation and community-based exercise, mentorship and support.”
The name of the group is, fittingly, “Surviving and Thriving.”
And on a rainy weekend in late spring, Surviving and Thriving kicked off with its inaugural hike.
To say it was well-received is an understatement.
“The feedback has outstanding, the attendance has been through the roof,” Sleigh said. “... At our first hike, we had 38 participants, at our last hike we’ve had up to 70.”
And this has been with little to no advertisement, just word getting around in thriver circles.
“This tells me there’s a real need for these types of programs in Colorado Springs.
Why hiking?
“We are an evidence-based organization, and research tells us that community-based exercise, being out in nature with others, helps to reduce anxiety, helps to reduce depression as well. So that’s where we kind of came up with the hiking idea. Colorado is a beautiful state, there are so many trails and parks to explore and it’s some thing that our participants really seem to enjoy.”
She’s already seeing it paying off in extraordinary ways with her attendees.
“We have a particular member, her name is Janet. ... Janet has battled with breast cancer since 2020, and she wasn’t really getting out much or connecting with other survivors in person. She has been attending our hikes, and it was after her most recent surgery that she was actually able to walk her first mile at one of our local hikes.”
Sleigh says Janet was motivated to take those steps because of the support, encouragement and camaraderie she was finding being among her fellow survivors.
“Her story is pretty amazing,” Sleigh told me.
The response to the hikes has been so enormous, starting next month, the group is bumping its monthly hikes to bi-weekly hikes. They’re also starting a yoga series.
And exercise is far from all Surviving and Thriving offers members.
“We offer educational programs through our Pink Speaker series ... talking on different topics related to breast cancer, survivorship care. We’ve developed a peer mentorship program called ‘Breast Friends,’ where we pair a newly diagnosed individual with someone who’s a little bit further along in their journey to help provide encouragement and support.”
What this Thriver family has done for each other in four short months is nothing short of incredible.
“Working with the breast cancer population has been so inspiring for me just as a person because these women are so strong and they’ve had to go through so much,” Sleigh said.
And now, thanks to this group, they have each other!
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If you’re interested in joining Surviving and Thriving for an upcoming event, we have a link with more info here.
And with October being Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Surviving and Thriving has full morning of planned! Click on each link for more information on each event!
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